Bicycle touring inspiration: Pashmina Binwani – it’s never too late to learn cycling

At the age of 25, she didn’t know how to ride a bike. Five years later, we were cycling together on the washboard roads of Kyrgyzstan. Pashmina Binwani, a cyclist and travel writer from Kuala Lumpur, doesn’t care about speed or meeting other people’s expectations. Instead, she is trying to find her own path and gradually push her limits.

We talked about overcoming fears, learning new things when you are older, travelling to India, Iran and Georgia and the best places to cycle in Malaysia.

You learnt to ride a bicycle when you were 25. Your family was not outdoorsy at all. How did your passion for cycling start?

I was on my way to my office at a mall one day, staring at the trees and the birds. Suddenly, I realised my life was just working and hanging out with friends. I didn’t hike. I didn’t run. I didn’t know how to swim. I didn’t know how to ride a bicycle.

Usually, your parents would have taught you when you were young. I thought I knew how to ride a bicycle, but those were just training wheels. 

My passion for cycling began with watching YouTube videos of cyclists going downhill, with mountains around. It equated with freedom. I started asking people to teach me how to ride a bike.

Everybody says they can teach you, but they rarely have the time and patience to do it. I didn’t want to wait. I needed to move on and start going on trips. So I paid someone for three lessons. 

My biggest fear was cycling alongside cars. The fear was paralyzing. If a car was coming too close, I would get off my bike. I had to listen to music to tune out in the car. It took me about a year and a half to get the confidence to cycle on my main road. It was a mental process, harder than I expected. 

When I finally learned it, it was the best thing after hiking. A way to escape from city life. 

My early twenties were tough. I lost my dad and had to find ways to support myself and my family. It seemed impossible to have time to myself. Once I had a little bit of disposable income, I realized money was not everything. There’s got to be ways to have fun without spending a lot of money. 

These activities, cycling or hiking, are the best way to have fun and live in the moment. You focus on the road, on nature. It’s healing.

You mentioned cars. It reminds me of your accident in Kyrgyzstan when a truck overtook us too close, and you fell down. It was the end of cycling on this trip for you. Did this situation make you face the same fears you had when you started cycling?

I was a bit traumatized because my friend’s friend died hit by a car in Uzbekistan. It was his first bicycle trip.

I wanted to avoid such a situation. I was trying to be cautious, and this incident made me anxious. I was not a very trained cyclist, even though I have done touring in other countries like Laos and Taiwan. 

After that incident, it didn’t seem possible to just rest for a few days and continue cycling. Now, I’m stronger mentally. If things aren’t going my way, I take a few days to rest and think things through instead of quitting. 

What would you advise someone who wants to start bike touring but is scared of those situations? How do you find safe routes to reduce the risk?

It’s hard. Sometimes the route unexpectedly gets busy. You might have to second guess your itinerary without feeling the pressure to stick to it. Many people feel guilty or like they are cheating when they hitchhike from the busy sections. You have to go with your gut feeling. It’s okay to cheat or to start from a different point. We are not in competition.

I’ve made mistakes following people in Malaysia to start cycling from where I live. It’s a super busy place, and it happened that I went a hundred kilometres to the end of the town. Having to cross 5 lanes of highways is not fun. It happened recently. I was stuck in the middle of the highway because I followed a few road cyclists. 

I am trying not to get pressured to follow someone else. The most important thing is that your sanity is taken care of. Especially when you are just starting out.

It’s funny what you say about cheating. I had this conversation with many cyclists. What does it even mean, to cheat? Who makes up the rules? 

Some more conservative bicycle tourers claim that you must know how to fix your tire or go at a certain speed. It scares people off. There are too many barriers to starting cycle tourism. 

I read a book by Dervla Murphy. This Irish lady had no experience but she called full tilt in the 1960s. She never knew how to fix a bike, but she cycled from Ireland to Pakistan, India and Iran. When she had a puncture, she hitchhiked to the nearest shop. The next day she made sure the driver dropped her at the spot where she got stranded and continued cycling.

Obviously, you can learn how to fix a puncture, but you don’t have to. 

Definitely. I like to learn how to fix my bike, but it’s not essential to start touring. You can’t prepare for every potential problem with your bike anyway. 

I think people should not be bogged down by these rules created by the elitist community. Especially the road cycling community is elitist. I went for these rides. It was supposed to be a fun ride, but it was not fun at all. They told me to speed up or that if I have a hybrid bike, I cannot join because it’s only for road bikes. Why put the word fun there, then?

Many female cycle tourers often hear you are brave. I get annoyed when people say that, even though they usually mean it as a compliment. But it feels more like they are questioning if you know what you are doing or what you are getting yourself into.

Some men think you must be one of these hardcore female cyclists. They sometimes associate the look of the rough and tough tomboy kind with it. It’s so ingrained in them to think like this. 

When I come to a bike shop and say I am going for these trips, I always hear: how much mileage have you done? Do you know how to do this? They start asking you these questions and give unsolicited advice.

I read a post on Instagram by this girl called Marsha. When she was in Kyrgyzstan, she crashed when going downhill. Some of these lycra cyclists commented: Do you even know what you’re doing? Just because she didn’t look like a typical cyclist. This kind of reaction makes the community a bit shallow.

What does it even mean to look like a typical cyclist? 

I got a road bike a while ago, and since then, I often hear: now you need to get clips. Now you need to change your tires. Now you need to do this. It just never stopped. Why do I need to do that? I’m just comfortable figuring out my own journey.

Sometimes I prefer cycling alone here. The rides with roadies feel like a fashion shoot. I don’t enjoy it. I do it for nature and to switch off.

I find it funny how you are expected to fit either into one box. You’re either cycle tourists or road cyclists or this or this or this.

I know some road cyclists who have turned into bikepackers. They try to unlearn the whole process because they see all this chasing for KOMs on Strava is no fun. 

These conversations are important because many people think the ultimate goal is to be a proper athlete. And there are many solo female cycle tourists or backpackers who are not interested in all the gear related stuff or proving a point.

I like the Facebook group Bicycle Travelling Women. The conversation there is more nuanced. I would never post a question in the other groups because the comments, usually from men, tend to be super obnoxious.

I post on different groups, but I agree that the woman bike touring group is always supportive and understanding. They don’t push their opinions on you. You do you. In the other groups, you hear much more often: you should do this and this. I still post there, but if someone’s comment is mansplaining, I reply and ask to use a less patronizing tone.

The mansplaining is horrible, and I think this is why I’m more inclined to do solo rides overseas. After seeing you cycling alone in Albania, I’m more inspired to go cycling in India alone.

Cycling alone is so much freedom. I still enjoy meeting people on the road and cycling with someone every now and then. But I don’t like to have to adapt to someone.

It’s not fun anymore when you have to chase someone. You miss out on the greenery and nature around you. 

The key is to know your pace, what you want from bicycle touring, and what you like.

I think many new female cyclists put too much pressure on themselves. That girl, I pulled the pin, once said: I think people tend to push for the type two kind of fun, but they forget that they forget about the type one kind of fun, just enjoying the process. I like how honest she is and what she says about not being hard on yourself. I think that pressure adds up when you cycle a strenuous route. And if you don’t complete it, there is pressure and anxiety to it. The best way to do it is to get it one step at a time. You like the place, you can just stay there for like a day or two. 

You don’t have to keep up with this schedule that you have made up in your head. You’re also there to learn about the community. It’s a bit of travel involved, right? What’s the point of cycling through villages if you’re not stopping to interact with locals. 

To me, it’s almost spiritual. You’re alone with your thoughts. It’s almost like meditation.

You tried to teach your mum how to ride a bike. How did it go? 

Well, the bike is still there. She hasn’t learned how to cycle yet because life got in the way. She had a fall recently, and I think she’s afraid.

My biggest fear is falling on concrete, and she needs more time. I removed the pedals for her, so at least she can use her legs to get comfortable with it. It took me a long time to learn to bike. I will give it a few years until she gains confidence.

I always dreamt about taking my mum on bicycle holidays, but I don’t think that would happen. Pedalling is hard for her. She can’t seem to put her leg on the second pedal.

It takes a little bit of balance. You’re not supposed to look down but look straight ahead. If you look down, you lose your balance. I think it would take a lot of tries. But I taught her how to swim. 

You’re also taking her on hiking trips. How is she enjoying it?

I think it’s good to have an active holiday. Lazy holidays are fine, but you don’t learn a lot about yourself without sweating.

It’s good to have some rest in between, but I can’t imagine myself doing a typical holiday with visiting famous places and relaxing at a beach. It’s great, but I think part of me would want to cycle through every place. An active holiday is the best way for me to see the world.

My mum didn’t do a lot of hikes, but when we went to Borneo, there was a lot of snorkelling, a lot of activities in the sea and some hiking. She really likes this active kind of holiday.

I find it very inspiring. I bet not many of your mum’s friends would do it. 

Some of her friends have asked me to teach them, but they haven’t followed through. We inspired them, but the fear, especially the fear of falls, gets in the way. 

I thought of starting a cycling club many times, but I think I rather stick to writing about it.

I bet people would appreciate reading something on how to start doing those things in your 60s or 50s. 

Sure, many people can’t imagine that they could start cycling when they are so old and fragile. They don’t know where to cycle. In places like Kuala Lumpur, traffic is insane, so they need advice on finding safe routes. 

The tropical climate makes it difficult too. It is pretty hot here, with only a short window in the morning and in the evening for activities like cycling or running but you can choose your misery: tropical rains or tropical heat.

The culture is now changing, and more people are picking up cycling, but the infrastructure has not adapted yet. Obviously, it would take a really long time. For now, there are blue cycling lanes!

Malaysia has limited spots with a shade, especially in the city, so most people don’t feel like walking other than safe grounds like parks and shopping malls. There are a lot of discussions happening now about infrastructure in Malaysia and pedestrianising it. The cities should not only be made for cars but also for mobility.

When you were already in your twenties, you also learned how to ski in Georgia. What’s your advice to people trying to learn something new? How do you overcome fears or these thoughts that it’s too late? 

I am now in my thirties, and I can see the fear creeping in more often. It takes extra mental work to shut it down as you grow older, especially with the pandemic.

To acknowledge the fear and anxiety is better than shutting them down. You can give yourself different confidence boosters. You go for a refresher course, or you pick a kind instructor. Although my instructor, a Ukrainian guy, was super hard on me. 

People should envision the life they want to live. Then you get so excited about it that you do not have time to sit and wait. I think the best thing you can do is stop less and just go. If you can tell yourself to put fear behind you and start, even on bunny slopes.

Even though I learned how to ski, I would need a refresher course because there is no snow where I live. No way I would be able to master it. It’s natural.

No matter how confident you are, there will always be anxiety. You can’t ignore it, but you can learn to manage it, listen to your body and acknowledge it but not let fear paralyze you.

For me, a lot of confidence comes from reading people’s stories where they acknowledge their weaknesses. Everyone has hits and misses. 

So when you are scared or getting anxious, your strategy is to acknowledge it and then move on?

I like to find different coping mechanisms. I would talk to myself or try to distract myself. It could be by the view, the scenery, or how my body responds. Fear is just a construct, something we tell ourselves. It’s never real. You have to find a way to manage it rather than reacting to it and freezing up. That almost happened to me in Georgia. Luckily, I was in this good state of mind because I travelled overland from Iran, and only good things happened. 

But when you get caught up in the state of mind when things are not going your way, how would you overcome it?

You can take a break or push through and say: I will give myself another hour and see how I respond to it. You have to distinguish between fear caused by a projection of your mind and sometimes really dangerous.

You can’t just ignore fear because safety is a huge thing. You don’t want to mess with things like cycling at night. Sometimes giving up for safety’s sake is ok. It depends on how you assess the situation. 

What was the scariest situation that happened to you during your trips?

The scariest situation was probably the situation we had together in Kyrgyzstan, with that kid wanking (you can read more about this situation and our trip to Kyrgyzstan here). It was not really scary at that time because he was just a kid. But I was thinking: what if he comes back with a whole group of friends or uncles.

Another situation was in Georgia. I naively got invited by this guy to come home. He said his mom was home. Of course, nobody was there, and he started saying things like I love you and getting closer. I panicked and ran away. I was spoilt after visiting Iran, where people were so kind. I thought everyone was good.

It’s sometimes tricky to balance believing that the world is good and being cautious because some people don’t have pure intentions. I had a similar situation once, when I was CouchSurfing, for the same reason as you. I let my guard down because I had only good experiences so far. When you travel as a girl, you have to be so cautious, especially when wild camping, CouchSurfing, or even staying in hostels. It is frustrating.

Yeah, you need to be careful all the time. You have to lie that you are travelling with someone or look rough and boyish.

Even looking boyish doesn’t help sometimes. All my bad experiences happened when I was sweaty straight from the bike. What was your biggest fear before you went solo to the Himalayas and to India for the first time?

It was mostly men and the crowd. You hear all these stories in the media that New Delhi is the rape capital of India. I travelled alone by metro, and I saw women wearing sports bras and dressing progressively. What you read and what the actual situation is are two different things. Obviously, these stories are real, and you have to be extra careful. You can’t go out in the middle of the night, but you can travel there alone. You need time to get used to the culture shock.

Unfortunately, roaming around in big cities in India is risky. But higher up in the mountains, people are more community- and family-oriented. If you’re a female traveller, 90% of the time, they will look out for you and adopt you. It is heartwarming.

I don’t think any place, especially any city, is 100 % safe. Even Rome, a tourist city, is not hundred per cent safe because of pick-pocketing.

When I travel, I have to come up with stories on the spot to send off attention. It sucks. That’s probably why people call us brave.

But this doesn’t really help to overcome those fears. 

It doesn’t, and most people will use it as an excuse. They would never address the fear.

Everybody faces some fears when they start bicycle touring, also men. I read a few blogs where people describe how they plan to start the trip and the fear and anxiety creep in, and they procrastinate the trip.

I think procrastination happens to a lot of people on these trips. I know I often procrastinate in the morning when I feel anxious. 

It’s good that people admit that they need to overcome these fears. It shows you’re a human. 

There are also two aspects of safety: whether you are respected as a woman and as a cyclist. For example, travelling on your own in Iran is pretty safe, but cycling is not. Many female solo cyclists got harassed, and as a result, they stopped cycling altogether.

In the last two years, everything has changed because of Covid. We had to go through a huge adjustment when everything shut down, and you were doomed to explore your closest neighbourhood. What did this period teach you?

I think I got more confident on my bike. There were fewer cars on the roads. Usually, I would always wait for my boyfriend to go cycling with him, but I found the courage to go alone.

I got more confident in finding different streets and corners around my neighbourhood. I met a lot of people on the road as well. Everybody felt isolated and automatically became friendlier. I really cherish those spontaneous moments I create every day. 

One thing I miss from pre-pandemic is the spontaneity of being able to plan trips just by going with the flow. I hate planning. Now I have to plan more to avoid blowing my budget. With flights being more expensive, I’m restricted to Southeast Asia. It is fun to cycle here, but the heat can kill you. The next option is East Asia. India, Japan and Taiwan have more mountains and four seasons.

The anxiety creeps up also when I check the travel rules. I’m looking forward to winging it when there are fewer restrictions, but living in the moment is more important than getting bogged down by big trips.

Is Malaysia a good destination for bicycle touring? What places or routes do you recommend?

Kuala Lumpur tends to be crowded, so many people go to the nearby states. The highlands are great for cycling. One of my favourite routes is Fraser’s Hill, a colonial English hill town. It’s almost 40 kilometres uphill, but the town is really cool. Other cool haunts are Hulu Langat, Janda Baik, just a short drive of about 40 min from Kuala Lumpur and tucked away in the hills. 

The east coast of Malaysia is also great, with stunning beaches. I plan to cycle there as well for about 10 days. Borneo is perfect for hiking and mountain biking. It has the tallest mountain in Southeast Asia – Mount Kinabalu.

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Most people speak English in Malaysia. It is also cheaper than Singapore, so travelling here is easy. And the food is delicious. There are a lot of casual cafes where you can find anything you want: Malaysian, Chinese or Indian cuisine.

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Did Pashmina’s story inspire you? Visit her blog thegonegoat.com and follow her on Instagram.